Cycling is among the most popular competitive sports in Belize, but as Janelle Chanona reports, the riders in this next story are peddling for neither fame nor fortune. Janelle Chanona, Reporting Around eleven-thirty this morning more than fifty cyclists rode into the Social Security Board compound after completing the eighty mile journey from Corozal to […]
We are in the middle of Disability Awareness Week and today one organisation that deals with the subject at the grassroots level let the public know exactly what it does. News Five’s Kendra Griffith reports. Kendra Griffith, Reporting Today CARE-Belize held an open-house to educate the public on their work. Roxanne Jones, Community Rehabilitation Officer, […]
The latest edition of the Journal of Belizean Studies is now on sale at bookstores countrywide. According to co-editor Yasmine Andrews, volume twenty-nine features four interesting articles by both local and international contributors. Yasmine Andrews, Co-Editor, Belizean Studies “The first article has to do with black gold and white gold. We all know black gold […]
The sets may have looked the same, but today’s drama in Belmopan had a radically different script than the one that played out seven days earlier. News Five’s Janelle Chanona was once again on duty outside the National Assembly building in Belmopan. Janelle Chanona, Reporting Barbed wire, strong police presence, and intense heat did little […]
With the P.M.’s withdrawal of the U.H.S. motion, yesterday evening the Chamber of Commerce and Industry called off its planned shutdown of businesses. A stroll through downtown Belize City today revealed that although there were one or two clothing stores which looked like they did not open, for most, it was business as usual, albeit […]
Both sides in the battle over the Universal Health Services bailout continue to jockey for position at Friday’s pivotal meeting of the House of Representatives. Outside the National Assembly the U.D.P. will be leading the mass demonstrations, but the partisan aspect is expected to be soft peddled as a wide cross-section of civic groups and […]
The lengthy process of approving new rates for Belize Electricity Limited continues. Today the Public Utilities Commission announced that it has received two objections to its initial decision in B.E.L.’s Annual Review Proceeding. Those objections, one from Government and the other from B.E.L., mean that under P.U.C. bylaws the body must now appoint an independent […]
In many jurisdictions it is an increasingly popular alternative to the time and money consuming practice of going to court. But if mediation is going to take root in Belize it will rely on a trained corps of mediators. Today I watched a group of them graduate. Abdulai Conteh, Chief Justice of Belize “This itself […]
Today marked the closing of one week of activities held to observe the services of the Belize Red Cross. Over the past five days, volunteers from across the country participated in various events designed to promote the organisation and recruit more members. According to Director General Lily Bowman, their efforts were a success. Lily Bowman, […]
The issue of domestic violence is a complex one, both for the perpetrator and victim. What is not hard to figure out, however, is that something needs to be done to stop it. Today the Women’s Department introduced a new weapon in the fight. Jacqueline Godwin, Reporting The reality is that men do not feel […]
The controversy over Prime Minister Said Musa’s unilateral government guarantee and subsequent assumption of a thirty-three million dollar loan from the Belize Bank to Universal Health Services has now escalated into something more closely resembling a financial, constitutional, and political crisis. Today the P.M. for the first time spoke directly to the Belizean people on […]
With those obvious questions still awaiting answers, it was left to the Leader of the Opposition to weigh in with his assessment. For Dean Barrow, a man who pursues the P.U.P. for a living, it was just one more instance in which Said Musa’s mouth got him into even deeper trouble. Dean Barrow, Leader of […]
Today Cabinet met in Belmopan and while the Musa administration spent much of the meeting trying to work out a “structured” settlement of the government guaranteed Universal Health Services debt, the Prime Minister has yet to face the public on the issue. The usual Cabinet release won’t be out until tomorrow, but sources indicate that […]
Prime Minister Said Musa returned home on Sunday but since then the silence out of Belmopan has been deafening. Despite several requests for an interview from our newsroom, the P.M.’s intermediaries made it clear that Mr Musa is not talking to the media. But tonight our sources suggest that the P.M., who also happens to […]
Today, in front of his teachers and peers, eighteen year old Keran Rocke, a student at Sadie Vernon High School, was honoured by the police for doing the right thing. Rocke’s name was submitted by the school principal who became aware of his determination to succeed in life despite a troubled past in which he […]
The high political drama surrounding government’s unauthorized payment of a private loan was not the only conflict taking place in Belize this week. On the prosperous north coast of Belize City, irate residents and an ambitious developer were locked in a war of words over the neighbourhood’s future. News Five’s Janelle Chanona was there. Cecil […]
Whether the letter from Belize Bank chairman Phillip Johnson to the Association of Concerned Belizeans was a crude, blatant, and arrogant act of intimidation, or–as Johnson claims–simply a matter of putting things on the record, the move has failed to deter the citizens group. Five minutes before the Registry closed on Wednesday, the A.C.B. officially […]
The Public Utilities Commission has delivered its initial decision in the Annual Review Proceedings for Belize Electricity Limited. Released this afternoon, a quick perusal of the document indicates that most customers should be pleased. While approving B.E.L.’s Cost of Power, Rate Stabilization Account Balances, and adjustments and mean electricity rates, when it comes to customer […]
As far as public discourse goes, the debate over government’s unlimited guarantee of a private loan to Universal Health Services has been dominated by an aggressive coalition of Opposition politicians, an angry Senator, and civil society groups attacking a hapless government, all the while egged on by some dissident Cabinet ministers and a press corps […]
In the fallout following the much criticized Government guarantee to Universal Health Services, the People’s United Party has taken flak from the Opposition, the public and even from some of its own cabinet ministers for the implications of that decision. The guarantee, signed in December 2004 by Prime Minister Said Musa and Attorney General Francis […]
And while the People’s United Party circles the wagons to defend the decision of Prime Minister Said Musa to grant an open guarantee to U.H.S., on Wednesday the legality of the liability will be challenged in court. According to the Association of Concerned Belizeans, on Wednesday they plan to file suit in the Supreme Court […]
You might have seen them on your travels … young members of the Belize Defence Force on a cross country journey on foot! But the investment of sweat, blood, and tears was not about personal accomplishments because as News Five’s Kendra Griffith reports, the soldiers are the latest to support the fight against HIV. Kendra […]
Financial independence is a status far easier to discuss than achieve, but for the next two months, one group of villagers will be arming themselves with skills that should bring them closer to that reality. Under the theme, “Empowering the rural poor to increase their income and employment”, this morning the Belize Rural Development program […]
Today a small contingent of Mayan community leaders gathered in the courtroom of Chief Justice Abdulai Conteh to witness the first official proceeding related to their legal claim for demarcation of village lands. Residents of Conejo and Santa Cruz filed suit in the Supreme Court earlier this month, asserting that the Government of Belize has […]
School burglaries have become an all too familiar facet of Belize City life. But beyond the press coverage and indignant words from students and staff, life goes on and those affected are forced to deal with the loss. Today I visited one educational institution that is working hard to regain its balance. Natalie Lino, Principal, […]
